Telenor and Axiata back off from merger of Asian businesses

Norwegian telecom operator Telenor said Friday talks on merging its Asian operations with Malaysian telecoms group Axiata have ended due to complexities with the transaction.

The companies announced in May that they had entered talks on creating a new company to serve nearly 300 million customers in nine Asian countries.

Telenor would have controlled 56.5 percent of the shares and Axiata the remaining 43.5 percent.

"Due to some complexities involved in the Proposed Transaction, the parties have mutually agreed to end the discussion," Telenor said in a statement, adding that they did not rule out the possibility of a "future transaction".

The proposed company would have had its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and be listed on an international stock exchange as well as the Malaysian exchange Bursa Malaysia.

In addition to northern Europe, Telenor currently has operations in Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Myanmar.